Ramen
by paws-bells
Summary: ItaSaku Non Massacre AU. Their unlikely love story started inside a Ramen Bar, of all places. She had yelled her confession to him for the world to hear, but he had walked away. Of course, he hadn't known then how determined she could be.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Ramen

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General

**Word Count:** 6013

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #50, Ramen

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non-massacre AU. Their love story started inside a Ramen Bar, of all places. She had yelled her confession to him for the world to hear, but he had walked away. Of course, he hadn't known then how determined she could be.

**Created on:** 18/08/08

**Completed on:** 02/09/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 13/09/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter 1

* * *

Team Seven definitely never saw it coming.

As usual, it was nobody's fault but their own.

The signs were all there, large neon-lit signals that all but screamed what was going on, only coincidentally, by some sheer grace of god, all three young men, intelligent and extremely powerful individuals of their own right, completely failed to notice that quite possibly for the first time in her life, their only female teammate had _fallen in love_.

Heck, knowing them, the chances were appallingly high that they had even forgotten that the last member of their team was actually a woman.

Either way, the three men of Team Seven, together with the unfortunate male who had earned her favor, were in a for a very rude awakening when said female made her interest known one day, _and very loudly too_.

In the crowded midst of one Ichiraku Ramen Bar, the sharp sound of a tea cup being slammed against the wooden table was loud despite the chattering atmosphere of the small restaurant. So was the unpleasant screech of a stool being shoved backwards abruptly as a certain, determined, pink-haired kunoichi suddenly sprung up from her seat. Vibrant emerald eyes blazing with fierce determination and a sense of bravado that she didn't exactly feel, Haruno Sakura blurted out the feelings that she had kept bottled up within her heart for the past three months.

_She had to say it and she had to say it right now!!_

"I like you, Uchiha Itachi," The beautiful young woman blurted out bravely and fearlessly—completely suddenly and out of the blue, too. "And I have decided that you will be the only one for me."

Right before her gathered teammates, as well as the man whom she had fallen so hopelessly in love with, Sakura had declared her intentions loud and clear to all who bothered to listen. In this case, it was all the patrons of the small but popular ramen stall.

Unfortunately, the reaction to her spirited and highly unusual declaration was a rather anti-climatic one.

The Uchiha in question, who had joined his younger brother and his team for an intense sparring session and had agreed to have dinner with the group as well, didn't seem to react at all to the kunoichi's confession. The powerful, albeit very quiet and reserved, ANBU merely continued to consume his meal in silence.

Once again, _unfortunately_, it was not the same for her teammates, though.

"…I swore I just heard the Hag confessing to Emo's brother," Sai commented to no one in particular. "I must be imagining it."

Sasuke, who had been gaping gracelessly the very moment Sakura's uncharacteristic words left her mouth, managed to pick up his jaw with great difficulty. _What…the hell?_

"You are not imagining it," The younger Uchiha mumbled at last, still in some shock. His normally above reproach, intelligent, sensible and sometimes unbearably cheerful female teammate had just done something incredibly foolish and reckless. He couldn't believe that she had just declared her affection for his brother, of all the people to do so to. _His brother_, for crying out loud.

In a Ramen Bar.

And wait a minute…

Sasuke shot a faintly smiling Sai an annoyed glance.

"Stop calling me 'Emo,' Sai.'"

"…."

Naruto was unavailable for comment. The blonde was so stunned by his Sakura-chan's fierce declaration that he was currently frothing at the mouth and not exactly 'all there' at the moment.

The spiky-haired Uchiha looked to his female teammate at last. Sakura appeared to be staring hard at his older brother, almost as if waiting for him to give some sort of reaction to her outrageous statement earlier. Sasuke could have told her that she would be in for a long wait, if that was the case.

Just then, the older Uchiha, who had been sitting beside his younger brother the entire time, finally put down his chopsticks. "I'm done with my meal," He commented quietly, his low, lilting tone calm and unperturbed as usual. It was as if he hadn't even heard Sakura's words.

Completely ignoring the kunoichi, who was still staring at him, the long, raven-haired male turned to his otouto. "I'm going to return to the clan grounds first." Then, his remote, distant gaze flitted over to each of his brother's teammates, although the kunoichi was left for the last. Nodding once, politely and nothing else, Itachi rose smoothly from his seat and left the ramen bar as soundlessly as a wraith.

Sasuke winced inwardly at the stumped expression on Sakura's face.

Crash and burn, and she hadn't even taken off yet.

"…You are not the first to confess to my brother, you know," Sasuke remarked at last, inwardly wondering just what it was about his stoic brother that had attracted Sakura. Sakura, his friend, who had never expressed any interest in men before, was suddenly declaring her liking for Itachi. And he could probably count with one hand the number of times his brother had met with his teammate. It really was baffling.

"Though I'm certain she was the one who did it the loudest," Sai chimed in his usual blank tone. "Sit down, Ugly. Everyone is staring at you."

At last, Sakura sank back onto her seat. She was still silent after her declaration, but she was mostly ignoring the wide-eyed stares and amused whispers that were going around the restaurant, a small frown on her face. In the spirit of looking out for his teammate, Sasuke sent out some well placed glares and managed to quell most of the inquisitive patrons of the ramen bar. Still, there was no doubt to the younger Uchiha that what had just happened was going to be passed all over the Konoha grapevines come early tomorrow morning.

"Sakura, you idiot. Couldn't you be normal and confess to my…brother in a more isolated area?" Sasuke muttered irritably, slowly recovering now from the shock of his friend's abrupt—and wholly unusual—declaration. "Now look at what you have done; you are going to be the laughingstock of Konoha tomorrow."

The pink-haired kunoichi in question still did not seem to come to her senses, and beside her, Naruto was still all googly-eyed and off in his own little world.

"…I'm not going to give up yet."

Her head snapped up suddenly, and it was then that her two 'sober' teammates noticed the light of determination that still shone brightly in her eyes. In reality, it had never faded at all, and Sasuke could already see what was going to happen already.

"Sakura…_No_." The younger Uchiha sighed with disbelief, but knew that it was probably too late. His teammate just wasn't a quitter (even when she very well should); she wasn't known for being timid or a coward, either. It was quite the opposite, really, and Sakura was about to prove it yet again.

Almost as if she had just realized that the man whom she had just declared her affection to had left and was no longer here, Sakura sprang up from her seat once more, muttering a distracted 'I will see you guys later' and then quickly fled the ramen bar as well. Sasuke had no doubt that she had gone off in search of his brother.

The younger Uchiha resisted the urge to groan.

Of all the men in Konoha, why Itachi?

That was Naruto's cue to blink awake.

"...I swore I heard Sakura-chan telling your brother that she likes him, teme," The blonde Jounin muttered bewilderedly, looking around only to find that both the older Uchiha and Sakura was nowhere in sight. "I must have been imagining it."

Sasuke really did groan out loud this time.

"It's not your imagination, dobe."

* * *

"Itachi-san!! Please wait!"

Since he had chosen to walk, it was easier for her to catch up to him and she did so immediately, drawing up abreast of the impassive male and slowing down to a trot beside him.

The Uchiha heir merely sent her a cordial, sideways glance before looking forward again.

"Haruno-san." He greeted her in a detached manner, and she had to fight hard not to flinch inwardly from his discouraging, icy tone.

This was probably why most of his fangirls chose to admire him from afar. His emotionless, impassive demeanor appeared to be most exciting and exotic for the women in question, but it was also thanks to that same frigid, blanked temperament that he was isolated from others—but that only served to make him appear even more mysterious.

The perfect catch.

But she wasn't like those fangirls who happened to liked him because of his status, power, or looks, and because she really wanted to know more about him, she persevered hard and relentlessly when most would have already been put off and angered by his remote and seemingly callous actions.

"Itachi-san." Her eyes never left his as she spoke to him, not even when he stared straight ahead and failed to spare her another glance. "I'm sorry if my confession back there caused you some discomfort, but I meant exactly what I said; I like you."

It was evident that the Uchiha had hoped to avoid this particular conversation by blatantly ignoring her declaration and assuming that she would have been like the many others before her, giving up immediately when they had received no reply from him, but that was clearly not the case.

She was persistent, and he could only give her the standard reply that he had perfected over the years.

Pausing in his steps, Itachi finally turned towards the kunoichi, meeting her earnest, expectant gaze with his own unfailingly polite, but yet so very empty, one.

"Thank you for expressing an interest in me," He started quietly, neutrally, "But I will not accept your confession, for I do not share your sentiment."

Judging from experience, here was where the tears and cries of disappointment would begin, and he silently resigned himself to being subjected to the hail of feminine wiles and theatrics that was soon to come.

Surprisingly enough, she never did any such thing, though, only tilting her head slightly and observing his carefully blank gaze.

"…Did you teach Sasuke the proper way to go about rejecting love confessions from girls as well?" she asked eventually, much to his inward surprise. "You both say exactly the same thing."

He had not expected for her to say anything like that, and she was inwardly delighted to see the faintest hint of curiosity stirring within his dark eyes.

Then those same onyx orbs narrowed imperceptibly with mild incomprehension. Had she confessed to his younger brother before as well?

Almost as if she could discern his thoughts, she shook her head slightly and continued to speak. "I have seen Sasuke turn down his admirers before," she explained. "And I think you got me wrong; I wasn't trying to force a reaction or an answer from you when I said that I liked you," she informed him candidly, though there was the smallest tint of shyness in those bold emerald eyes of hers.

"I was just letting you know how I feel, that's all," she admitted truthfully. "I don't expect you to feel anything for me, of course. How could you? You don't even know me."

He was slightly intrigued by her calm reaction in the face of his rejection, not to mention her odd reasoning. His interest failed to show on his face, however. This kunoichi just wanted to let him know that she liked him? Whatever for?

"You don't know me at all as well." He was obligated to point out, expressionless as ever. All she probably knew of him was his abilities, his rank, his duties.

To his surprise, her eyes gentled slightly. "You are wrong," she informed him softly, a small, secretive smile lighting up her dainty features. "I have seen a…special…side of you only once before, and I really liked what I saw then."

She peered at him intently then, almost as if trying to search for and look past that currently cold and impassive façade of his, for the real Itachi whom she had been so hopelessly charmed by. It was no use, of course; he was as wary and as tightly guarded as a wild animal, though she still wasn't planning to give up just yet.

"I just want to see it again," She told him truthfully, wistfully.

Onyx eyes widened imperceptibly at her strange words. He was inwardly startled by her explanation.

_What had she seen? _

Oddly enough, he was now curious to know just what she had saw in him for her to exhibit such an expression on her face at this very moment; large doe-eyes softly gentle but not dreamy, pink mouth curved in a small, genuinely pleased smile and nothing like the artificial, coquettish twitch of lips and practiced coy glance that he often saw in simpering females.

This was different, like nothing he had come across before whenever he had to deal with such difficult matters.

And that only served to intrigue him further.

Then, she looked at him straight in the eyes, that soft gaze of hers clearing to form pure determination.

"Please, just let me get to know you more, Itachi-san," she requested. "Even if it is just for a few minutes each day, will you spare a bit of your time?"

She wasn't requesting for a romantic relationship, or even a date. It appeared that all she wanted from him was only some interaction.

If he agreed to what she was proposing, he had no doubt that she was going to be bored out of her mind within days of getting to know him. Judging by the past reactions of women who had tried to get too near him, the stars in their eyes tended to fade quickly the very moment they became aware that he wasn't what they had thought him to be. He wasn't exactly the best conversationalist in the world, nor was he prone to small talk or especially gifted with a glib tongue, and his life revolved completely around his work, his clan, and training. He was a silent, stoic, and boring individual, and once she realized just what type of person he was, he was very certain that she would leave him alone, like the rest.

And so he quietly agreed to her request.

* * *

As promised, she was waiting for him the very next day, right outside his clan's holdings and when he came out exactly on time, there she was, chatting amiably with the Uchiha sentries who took turns guarding the clan property, her face animated and her eyes lively as she paid genuine attention to whatever it was that the pair of Chuunin were telling her.

Surprisingly enough, she noticed his presence almost immediately, her head lifting up from the conversation and her eyes alighting on his person. They lit up with warm welcome, and she greeted him.

"Itachi-san!" She called out cheerily. "Are you ready to go?"

There was no shyness, no embarrassment and definitely nothing coy about her open behavior, and that was very odd since she certainly wasn't acting like the kunoichi in the past who had proclaimed to like him. Still, he did not let his puzzlement show on his face, and merely nodded silently. After all, he had no intention of encouraging her whatsoever. Stepping out of the clan compound, he proceeded towards the Hokage Tower to check the mission listing for his team. The pink-haired kunoichi who had decided to tag along waved and called out her goodbyes to the younger pair of nin whom she had been talking to before catching up to him.

"How was your day so far?" she asked affably, and he glanced at her briefly before returning his attention ahead.

"…it was adequate." His tone was lilting but distant, but she easily let it roll off her back.

"Really?" she sounded amused instead, much to his inner incomprehension. "My day didn't start out as well, though. Naruto came over and started banging on my door in the godforsaken hours of the morning, and then…"

She proceeded to spin a rather humorous tale involving her over concerned, over reactive teammate and the mess that he had wrought in her house until she had decided at last to boot the yowling blonde out of her home. The handsome, raven-haired Uchiha remained silent throughout her entire narration, and didn't seem to react at all to her words. She was mildly disappointed by his lack of response, but she was not fazed, well aware that he was listening, even though it may not seem like it. Then, she continued to tell him about how her other best friend Ino had come around as well, demanding to know if she had really made a confession right in front of everyone in Ichiraku. After some more fuss and even more scolding from the other blonde kunoichi for her rash and unthinking actions, she had suffered from a rather hectic morning, and she was not at all shy relating her experience to the quiet man walking beside her either.

If he thought that he was going to intimidate her away by being emotionless and unresponsive, he was going to learn that it wasn't going to work. It was fine if he didn't like to talk; she had more than enough things to say for the both of them.

She had known from the very beginning the type of character he possessed, and was therefore not surprised or deterred by his antisocial behavior. This was Sasuke's older brother, after all. It wasn't difficult to assume that they were bound to have some similarities in terms of temperament.

However, it did surprise her when he spoke eventually.

"You are not concerned?"

It was only curiosity that prompted him to speak, nothing else. There was no doubt that this woman beside him had made a spectacle out of herself for doing what she did last night, and the village would be most interested to spread the news around, seeing that it involved an Uchiha as well as the Hokage's prized student. The members of his clan would not heed the unfounded whispers unless he confirmed it, and therefore he was relatively unaffected by the gossip.

It wouldn't be the same for her, and as she had voluntarily mentioned, already those close to her were indicating their concern.

Sakura looked at him sideways, and then she shrugged.

"I don't care what others think," she answered calmly and truthfully. "Those who know me are aware of what I am and what I'm not. I'm not ashamed for liking you."

Candid and to the point, she had struck again. This time, it was enough to make him turn his head slightly to regard her in silence. She didn't seem to mind his heavy, considering stare, looking back at him openly until he chose to direct his attention elsewhere again. He offered no response, and she didn't expect him to.

"Well, here is where I take my leave." The kunoichi broke the silence when they arrived at the Hokage's Tower a short minute later. He must not have expected her reply, for although he refrained from speaking, she could feel his impassive gaze land upon her for a brief moment.

Her lips twitched slightly with wry amusement.

"I have to go to the hospital to work my shift. I can't always be stalking you, you know?" Her voice was rich with humor, never mind the fact that she was lightly making fun of herself. Walking ahead, she turned to him slightly with a wave and a small smile. "See you tomorrow, Itachi-san."

* * *

Within the next two months, Itachi learned that the pink-haired kunoichi meant exactly what she said when she had asked for him to spend only a few minutes of his time with her. Without fail, she would seek him out on the days when he had no pressing duties or assignments to attend to, her emerald eyes always landing on his person with genuine happiness as she came up to him, and it didn't matter that he was mostly silent during each of their encounters, for she was more than happy to speak as long as he listened.

She seemed to be able to locate him quite easily as well; between his younger brother who was her teammate as well as her own connection to the Hokage, it probably wasn't difficult for her to discover his whereabouts whenever she chose to. Still, there was no specific timing, place, or event that triggered her to appear before him; their meetings seemed to occur with complete randomness, but every day, she would come to him once, and never for more than fifteen minutes.

Their conversation followed no fixed pattern either. Of course, she was the one who spoke most of the time; sometimes sharing her day's experience like that very first day she came to him, sometimes relating to him special vignettes of her friends and teammates, other times just generalizing, discussing work, politics, anything and everything under the sun that came to her attention on that particular day.

She never attempted to pressure him to talk or force him to respond to her, and so, most of the time, he didn't participate actively in those conversations, though he eventually became a little more relaxed around her once he realized that unlike the others, she _really_ wasn't pinning any unrealistic expectations on him, and genuinely only wished to spend time getting to know him better.

There were no feminine wiles, no coy flirtation, none of the many little tricks that he had already become accustomed to and, in a way, immune to, when it came to dealing with those of the opposite gender.

She was obviously, glaringly, _decidedly_ different; cheerful, teasing, but yet still respectful of his need for personal space; intelligent, bold, engaging, but yet sometimes shy and easily embarrassed at rare moments. A paradox, she was, and since she had insisted on coming to him daily, the intellectual part of him just couldn't resist trying to analyze her, pry her apart to find out just what it was that made her so very different from the rest.

And so, slowly but surely, he learned to calmly listen to what she had to say, quietly providing an input only when strictly necessary; which wasn't all the time but always just enough to satisfy her. It was an uncertain balance, but for some reason or another, she didn't seem to be discouraged or deterred by it at all.

He was becoming used to her presence.

And so, despite his initial unwillingness, he began to understand this kunoichi more and more, learning about her through keen, quietly watchful observation and examining her many different thought processes and reactions to her surroundings and people with unusual interest and the meticulous thoroughness that he was famous for.

She was very friendly and outgoing, and unlike himself, seemed to make friends everywhere she went. There were always people, nin and civilian alike, who called out to her whenever they happened to walk along the streets of the village, and she never failed to address them by name when she greeted them back. Some were patients whom she had healed before, some were colleagues whom she had worked with before, some were childhood friends, some were neighbors, some were even common, everyday market grocers and shopkeepers, but all were her friends.

She was undeniably popular and well-liked, this pink-haired Sweetheart of Konoha.

And the more he got to know her sunny nature and smiling, determined character, _the more he didn't understand_.

_I have seen a…special…side of you only once before, and I really liked what I saw then._

What had she seen? And why him?

Of all the people from all the different walks of life whom she knew, why him?

As the weeks passed, the mystery plagued the Uchiha more than it ought to. He didn't ask her to clarify her words, however, but the fact that she was beginning to get to him, if only a little bit, made him wary enough to forcibly distance himself from her.

He took more missions than needed on behalf of his team, assignments that required accomplishments in foreign soil as well as days of travel, thus successfully lengthening the intervals between the short minutes in which she would get to see him each day.

That in itself was beginning to become a rather aggravating—and mystifying—subject to him.

How was it possible that this pink-haired kunoichi was slowly but surely forcing him to revise his opinion of her by just spending a few short, inconsequential minutes with him daily?

* * *

He was avoiding her.

It wasn't obvious, but she could tell. All of a sudden, his team was taking up more high profile and high-risk missions, most of which required the ANBU to leave Konoha for days at a time, and whenever he finally returned, he would only allow himself and his team a mere day or two of recovery time before setting off on yet another highly classified assignment.

Not surprisingly enough, that meant she had less chances to see him.

Not surprisingly enough, _it hurt_.

But still she persevered, and still, she always smiled for him.

"Hey, Itachi-san, you are going for another mission tomorrow, right?" She really didn't have to ask, and he nodded, onyx gaze blank as usual, impassive attention fixed at a distant point. She had been waiting for him outside the ANBU headquarters, and the very moment she had appeared, he had distanced himself mentally, reminding himself to ignore her, reminding himself not to find her interesting, reminding himself that she was only a distraction and nothing more.

Superficially, it worked.

Her expressive verdant gaze flickered slightly at his less than lukewarm reception; once more, he was completely indifferent again, apathetic to her.

Where was the Itachi who had let his guard down a little, who always listened to what she had to say, who always watched her with those quiet, intent eyes of his? Why was he hiding his true self away again?

Her chest region contracted in distress, but still, _her smile never wavered_.

"I have something on today," she lied through her teeth. "So I won't bother you for long."

His emotionless gaze flickered over to her at last, and her eyes softened, those large, doe-like orbs revealing her genuine concern for him.

"Please return safely, alright?"

Onyx eyes widened imperceptibly. Despite his best efforts, she had managed to rattle him again.

He stiffened slightly and took his eyes away from her.

"I have to leave," he told her expressionlessly instead, almost as if he hadn't heard her at all.

Her smile threatened to falter. Sheer stubbornness and determination kept it firmly in place. She could not let him see her upset; it would be all over if that happened.

She had promised that she had only wanted to get to know him better; that was all. There wasn't supposed to be any emotional attachment to him.

Too bad she had been lying when she had made that promise.

"Alright, Itachi-san," she whispered, "Good bye."

* * *

Another two weeks passed, and Sakura was still determinedly trying her best to spend time with the increasingly busy Uchiha. She still never exceeded her self-allotted fifteen minutes though, no matter how it was getting more and more difficult to find the proper time, no matter how he seemed to be increasingly close-mouthed and indifferent to her.

The only thing that encouraged her was the fact that she knew that he still listened to her, even though he never responded any more.

Then, everything changed.

"Sakura-senpai!" A panicked medic-nin trainee came barreling into the staff room during a particularly quiet graveyard shift in the hospital. The pink-haired kunoichi was immediately alert, setting down the book that she had been reading and preparing to follow her subordinate. Judging from his tone, there was definitely an emergency.

She was right.

"ANBU Team Three has just reported in with two casualties," the younger nin fired out swiftly as Sakura followed him out of the staff room. "We have one serious casualty and another with more superficial injuries. Both are being treated in the A&E right now."

Sakura faltered slightly. _ANBU Team Three_.

That was Itachi's team.

Then, almost immediately, she pulled herself together, her eyes calming with professional intensity, her strides quickening to reach her patients.

Now was not the time to panic and worry.

"Tell me more about the situation," Sakura asked immediately, her voice calm and almost serene, effectively offsetting the nervousness of her fresher and greener junior.

"We have ascertained that the less injured patient suffered only from a broken arm and a few stab wounds. They are not life threatening. The other ANBU, however, is losing a lot of blood and we suspect internal hemorrhaging from massive trauma as well as poison in his bloodstream."

_Poison. _

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Have any of you administered the poison test already?" she asked even as the two all but ran towards the Emergency department.

"Affirmative." Now with his more competent senior and head medic at the helm, it was evident that the younger trainee was feeling more confident and assured of his duties. "We are also attempting to identify the source of the internal bleeding, and are awaiting your arrival to begin the treatment."

It would require advanced chakra control, not to mention a great amount of chakra to kick start that level of healing, and Sakura was currently the only one on this late night shift with that sort of ability.

Within half a minute, they arrived in the Emergency ward.

"Haruno-san!" one medic muttered with relief.

"Sakura-senpai!" another healer called out quickly. "The seals are all drawn and prepared for you to start the healing jutsu. We have confirmed that the patient is bleeding profusely from his liver and, to a lesser extent, his kidneys as well. The poison has already been identified, and extraction is currently being taken care of by another team of medics. We may begin treatment for the internal bleeding any time."

The pink-haired kunoichi nodded grimly. Another colleague passed her a hastily prepared file regarding the patient's current stats, and after glancing through it quickly, Sakura nodded.

"Let us begin."

Prepping was a quick affair assisted by the trainees, and then she, together with three other medic-nin, quickly entered the theatre where the injured ANBU was already there, currently being monitored by a pair of nurses.

Sakura, who had been trying her best not to worry, felt her heart stop momentarily at the terrifying sight of the pale, raven-haired Uchiha lying so frighteningly stil in the midst of the seal circle, numerous tubes attached to various part of his body, sustaining his vitals and barely keeping him alive.

_And somehow, he was still conscious._

Before she could stop herself, she strode hurriedly to him, and the extent of the damage done to him made her blanch inwardly.

…surely, she had seen worse.

But the fact that it was _him_, this time around, shook her badly.

Taught well by her powerful mentor, Sakura did not allow any of her growing distress to show on her face. Instead, she forcibly leeched away her worry, replacing every bit of her momentous anxiety with pure professionalism.

Their eyes met, his fogged by the anesthesia and pain, hers stormy and turbulent, yet slowly turning purposefully blank and emotionless and she cut off her feelings by sheer force of will. The chaotic force of her emotions would only hinder here, not help.

Swallowing hard, Sakura spoke.

"Uchiha-san." Her normally cheerful voice sounded coldly clinical to his ears. "We will begin your operation now. In less than ten seconds, the anesthesia will kick in completely and you will feel nothing more. I will begin the countdown now. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven…"

His eyes closed at last, and after another check from the nurse, everything was set to go.

Sakura took a deep breath, and then she turned her head slightly to her left and nodded to her fellow colleagues. They got into position immediately.

"Let's start."

* * *

The operation took exactly four hours and fifty minutes. Four other medics took turns, periodically switching with the original three to provide the necessary chakra energy to fuel the exhaustive healing process. The Uchiha had his entire blood supply replaced twice over, and his blood pressure bottomed out once.

But they managed to save him in the end.

The extensive internal injuries were completely healed, the poison in his system extracted, and so he would live.

As the nurses and orderlies transported the unconscious ANBU out of the theatre, a small, tired cheer rang out from among the remaining medics. Sakura gave them permission to leave for the day; they had done well and had barely any energy left in them to be useful in the hospital.

"But Sakura-san, what about yourself?" one of her colleagues asked. Their head medic had been the only constant source of chakra throughout the entire operation, as the healing jutsu had required her perfect control and therefore she hadn't been able to rest at all.

The visibly drained pink-haired kunoichi stood up slowly and shook her head.

"I still have the paperwork and reports to see to, as well as the post op care and checkup of the patient," she answered softly. "Don't worry about me; I should be able to last until the end of this shift."

And so Sakura cleaned up, got out of her scrubs, and made her way towards Itachi's ward immediately. He was the most injured out of his team, and the other ANBU had already been taken care of by other medics.

Entering his room silently, she was once again greeted to with the sight of his unnaturally still form, as well as all the various medical equipment that was being hooked up to him. He was still pale, almost bloodless, from his injuries and the operation, and it was then that Sakura allowed herself to tremble with distress.

Now that the emergency was over, it had finally hit Sakura hard in the face that he had almost died, and she could have lost him.

She merely shook harder as she continued to watch him. According to the official reports, the team had fallen to an ambush of _three foreign teams of ANBU_, and it was only by sheer miracle, as well as the captain's sacrifice, that the entire team had escaped alive.

This was all her fault.

He had been pushing himself and his team hard and getting so many missions all in the interest of _avoiding her_. But thick-skinned and shamelessly determined as she was, she had completely failed to acknowledge what had been right in front of her the entire while.

He may not believe it, but she was more aware of his true character than he could ever imagine. She was well aware that behind the façade that was powerful, emotionless warrior, hid a man who cared deeply for his brother, who cared and thought for others more than the world might know, so much so that even though he had great difficulty expressing it, he was still trying in his own, obscure ways to help, careful not to hurt anybody unless completely necessary.

She saw what others clearly did not, and it was with that true part of him that she had fallen so deeply in love with, _but now it was evident that her unrequited affection was doing more harm than good_.

And as usual, it was just like him not to tell her straight out to leave him alone, and instead he had gone to so much trouble just to avoid her.

_This was her fault. _

The hurt at the knowledge that he was keeping away from her was nothing compared to the pain now, and Sakura knew what she had to do.

_She had to give up. _

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Yes, I'm back in the ItaSaku fandom. My GaaSaku muse was being rather inconsiderate and went back into hibernation mid-fic, whereas my ItaSaku muse was chomping at the lead and being a completely domineering bastard as usual, terrifying the other muses to submission and abusing the authoress, _as usual_. I couldn't fight back anymore, so I yielded. So yep, I will be hanging around the ItaSaku fandom again for awhile to come.

I really do feel sorry for my readers; my attention is always scattered all over the place and I tend to skip from one fandom to the next on a whim. Many apologies, people!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

'Ramen' was actually intended to be a one-shot, but it got too long and I had to split it into two. I will put up the final installment sometime next week, either on Wednesday or the weekend. For those who have read this chapter but are still not entirely sure just what is going on, well, this is an entirely new non-massacre AU, not related at all to Fiesta-verse, Icha-verse, Flirt-verse or any of their many sequels and prequels. But like the abovementioned trio, I'm planning to add on a few more one-shots to 'Ramen' as well, since I happen to be shamelessly intrigued by the many possibilities of this version's Itachi and Sakura.

And yes, sequels to 'sexy-no-jutsu', 'flirt' and 'deep fried vegetables' are currently in the making as well.

…I'm on a roll here, for no reason other than the fact that I really have no life outside of final year projects and fanfiction.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Ramen

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (Complete)

**Genre:** Romance/General

**Word Count:** 6803

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #50, Ramen

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non-massacre AU. Their love story started inside a Ramen Bar, of all places. She had yelled her confession to him for the world to hear, but he had walked away. Of course, he hadn't known then how determined she could be.

**Created on:** 18/08/08

**Completed on:** 02/09/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 17/09/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter 2

* * *

It was two days later before the Uchiha woke up, and another week before he was relatively mobile again.

In total, it had been nine days since he had entered the hospital, and throughout the entire duration of his stay, he had been visited by almost every one he knew; his family, clan members, colleagues, teammates, his superiors, what sparse amounts of acquaintances he had—everyone but the one person whom he had least expected to actually _not turn up_.

She was also the same head medic whom, he had later learned, had given her all to save him from very nearly dying, she was the same healer who had been in charge of him for the first crucial twenty four hours after the operation and until he regained consciousness, and then she had immediately relegated his care over to another medic-nin.

She was also the same woman who had insisted on seeing him every day if she could, but now, she was conspicuously absent, and for some reason, that bothered him.

It was enough for him to enquire about her presence or lack thereof, but a nervously tittering nurse had only mentioned how Haruno-sama was a very busy individual and would not be able to attend to him personally.

It didn't make sense to him at all; was she so busy now, all of a sudden, that she didn't even have minutes to spare?

Since there was no way for him to probe further, he had reluctantly accepted the reply with his usual blanked silence, and the anxious nurse all but outdid herself performing her duties before scurrying out of his ward.

It was obvious that she had been intimidated by his mere presence, even when he had not done a thing.

It wouldn't have mattered at all to Sakura, though. She would have smiled that cheery grin of hers, at ease and completely comfortable around him.

…it disturbed him vaguely that he was thinking of her thusly right now, but then again, the differences between her and just about every other woman he had met were becoming more and more obvious to him, and equally undeniable.

He had a lot of time to consider and ponder over it the past days; being bedridden with nothing better to do had a way of clearing up a lot of thoughts, and it wasn't at all difficult to understand this feeling of growing discontent now that he did not have any sufficient distractions to prevent himself from analyzing his displeasure.

Whether he liked it or not, whether he actually wanted it or not, whether he actively discouraged it or not, her daily visits had became something that he had started to unconsciously expect, even look forward to.

And now that he hadn't gotten to see hide nor hair of her for the past week or so, it felt extremely…odd.

The Uchiha heir did not know what to make of this discomforting sensation, but in usual fashion, he proceeded to ignore it. He was successful to a certain extent; his vaunted self-control prevented him from wandering out of his ward against the healer's order to look for the pink-haired woman who had upset his normally sedate, peaceful life, though it didn't help at all that he seemed to be instinctively anticipating her arrival every time the door opened, only to face someone else other than her.

…_Why was she avoiding him? _

* * *

Another three days later, he finally received his answer.

She came to his room.

He had just completed a session of physiotherapy when she walked in, and where he had been expecting the healer who had been in charge of his wellbeing, he saw her instead; tousled pink hair, slightly off-colored, pale features, emerald eyes that told clearly of an improper lack of sleep. It was evident that the nurse had spoken the truth; she had been busy.

Her eyes lit up slightly when they met his, the exhaustion in her very being seemed to clear away immediately as she gave him that same happy smile that she always did. This time around, he was strangely mesmerized by her appearance, never mind the fact that she was stressed and didn't exactly look her best at the moment.

The adage, 'Absence makes the heart grows fonder' may be true, after all.

She went nearer to him and proceeded to browse through his file, and since he had never taken his eyes off her since the very moment she walked through the door, it was easy to observe her as she leafed through the pages of his medical history and quickly compared it with his present status.

"You are well on your way to recovery, Uchiha-san." She spoke at last, a friendly, faintly smiling expression on her face. "I will talk to the healer who is in charge of you; if you wish, you could probably be discharged before the end of this week."

He said nothing, merely stared hard at her as she announced her statement in her cheerful, amiable 'nice medic-nin' voice.

He barely refrained from frowning.

He could tell that it was different from her usual interaction with him, almost as if lacking a certain…something.

_The look in her eyes…was different. It was normally softer, showing even more affection than it was now…_

It was no longer the same.

She didn't seem to notice his incomprehension.

"Also, I have taken the liberty to clear your schedule with Hokage-sama; your team will be taken off the active duty list for the next two months to accommodate your recovery, and this means that all the missions that you had volunteered to undertake on behalf of Team Three will be reassigned elsewhere." She paused, and then continued smoothly. "You won't be disturbed any longer, Uchiha-san, so don't worry about anything but your recovery."

Something about her voice raised alarm bells in his head. For the first time since her entry, he spoke, his voice slightly husky from the lack of moisture, but still retaining his soft, tenor tone.

"What do you mean, Sakura?"

It was the first time that he had addressed her by name; she had always been 'Haruno-san.' But now, he wondered to himself, why he hadn't chosen to use her given name instead. Her name had rolled off his tongue smoothly and easily, certainly a lot more so than her surname.

Her eyes flickered slightly, but then she chose to distract herself by pouring him a glass of water and handing it carefully to him. It was only after he drank his fill and set the container back upon the side table that she replied to him.

"I won't bother you anymore, Uchiha-san," she told him firmly, her mind already made up. "The past few months must have been extremely trying on your patience, and I have intruded upon you too much."

He began to realize what she was trying to say.

"I won't pester you again, even if you are just too kind to say so." At that, she gave him a genuinely soft smile. "So please, you don't have to take on so many assignments just to avoid me anymore."

_She knew. _

She had known all this time what he had been doing, and as much as it surprised him, what made him feel markedly worse was that she had never confronted him about it, always smiling at him and being her usual self, never mind that she had always known.

He should have felt tricked and fooled by her. Strangely enough, he only felt a foreign sense of growing…discomfort? Distress?

She bowed deeply before him, and he could only watch warily at the sheer finality of her action.

"Thank you for your patience, Uchiha-san. Please take care of yourself from now on," she whispered.

"Good bye."

* * *

She kept the smile pasted on her face and in her eyes for as long as she could, at least until she had walked out of his room. He had watched her the entire time, those beautiful dark eyes of his probing intently into hers, almost as if searching for something. Whatever it was, she did not know. He said nothing and she wasn't in the mood to ask, either.

She had been purposely avoiding him for the past week, hoping against hope that maybe her interest in him would wane with time. It had made sense; wasn't that how most crushes were easily ended?

But she had clearly forgotten one thing in her flawed logic.

Whatever affection she felt for one Uchiha Itachi was a lot deeper than the shallow trappings of a mere infatuation.

And seeing him again after that entire week of absence only made her miss talking to him even more, never mind that he normally seemed unresponsive and apathetic.

It had been all she could do to say all the necessary words that would break off her fragile bond with him, but in the end, she had forced herself to do it. Everything had been one sided from the beginning, after all, and everything was one sided in the end as well, and now here she was, nursing her hurting heart and walking away from the man whom she now realized would never be for her no matter how hard she tried.

Because if all her trying ended up hurting him inadvertently in one way or another, then she would rather give up.

It was a completely logical move, but it was definitely a lot harder to convince her aching heart.

She was weeping by the time the door of his room slid shut behind her.

"Sakura."

Her Uchiha teammate called out her name in a sigh, having seen her exit his brother's room. He had known that something like this would happen, and he had tried, in his own way, to warn his female teammate but to no avail. Sakura had always been so…_Sakura_.

The pink-haired female sniffled and looked at Sasuke, not at all embarrassed to let him see her tears. In fact, the smaller kunoichi trudged up to her alarmed teammate and proceeded to cry silently on his stiffened shoulder, much to the Uchiha's inward astonishment.

"Sasuke." She had whispered miserably in between small sobs. "I think I'm really in love with your brother."

* * *

True enough to her words, she didn't bother him again.

She never came by demanding her daily few minutes with him, and throughout the remainder of his hospital stay, he had been taken care of by another healer.

That disturbed him, especially now when he had come to the conclusion—and had also accepted—that he didn't mind being repeatedly 'bothered' by her.

But the kunoichi was determinedly making herself scarce, and he wasn't exactly used to seeking out people for personal reasons, not to mention since she had always been the one to find him, he really had no idea whatsoever where to start when it came to looking for her.

Fortunately, his younger brother was her teammate.

"…Sasuke."

It had been a few days since he had been discharged from the hospital, and nearly two weeks since he had last seen Sakura. His younger brother was also behaving suspiciously, although very inconspicuously, almost as if the younger Uchiha was attempting to avoid his nii-san.

Like now, when he had caught Sasuke trying to slip back into the clan compounds late at night without alerting anyone to his presence.

"What are you doing?"

Sasuke really shouldn't have been surprised to hear Itachi's impassive, deadpan voice. What on earth his brother was doing lurking about in the gardens he had no idea, but knowing Itachi, he must have been there for a purpose, namely to corner his suddenly elusive sibling.

The younger Uchiha looked down from his perch on the large tree branch that he had soundlessly vaulted onto, and saw his nii-san immediately. In the semi-darkness of the moon-lit night, Itachi was sitting under the sheltering boughs of the giant magnolia tree, looking for all the world as if he had been meditating. Sasuke was not fooled, however; his brother had purposely concealed his presence and one did not have to do so in order to meditate.

Sasuke dropped noiselessly from the large tree, landing beside his brother's still figure with ease.

Itachi opened his eyes to regard his sibling. Sasuke was dressed in a casual outfit with the Uchiha clan insignia emblazoned over his back, and the fact that he was not due for any mission that day, nor was he training, immediately informed the older Uchiha just where his otouto had been.

With his teammates.

"You are up late tonight, nii-san," Sasuke spoke at last, his own baritone pitched low to avoid disturbing the peaceful stillness of the night. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

Once more, Itachi's quiet, keen gaze flitted across his brother's features. Thanks to years of observing his little brother, it was easy to pinpoint the slightly tensed set of his shoulders, the smallest hint of a scowl lightly creasing his brow as he looked at his elder sibling.

And Itachi had gotten his confirmation.

He looked away from Sasuke. "I was looking for you," Itachi replied at last. Before the younger male's frown could deepen with mild incomprehension, he continued steadily, "I wanted to ask about the whereabouts of your teammate."

Sasuke stilled completely at his brother's seemingly apathetic reply. His eyes widened imperceptibly with surprise.

_What on earth…?_

"Which teammate?" the spiky-haired Uchiha asked abruptly.

His brother proceeded to give him a blank look which Sasuke easily interpreted as one of his more impatient stares. They both knew just which teammate he was referring to.

"Sakura."

Even though that was so, Sasuke was still openly surprised when Itachi actually said her name. 'Sakura,' not the usual, formal 'Haruno-san.' It was strangely intimate, almost as if his brother was finally acknowledging…_something_.

The crease between Sasuke's brows deepened further when it was evident that his brother was fully expecting an answer.

"Why?"

It wasn't difficult to notice the slight edge of protectiveness in the younger male's tone. Itachi eyed his brother intently.

"I have some questions that only she can answer."

Silence.

"…Now is not a good time," Sasuke spoke eventually. He paused briefly, and then continued again in an annoyed, hushed tone. "Sakura is not well."

Itachi's reaction to the news was slight, almost unnoticeable. But Sasuke saw it; the minute tense of his lean, deceptively relaxed form, the quick flash of…something in those normally bland, impassive eyes, gone as rapidly as it had appeared.

Because this was Itachi, what may seem a slight reaction was actually tantamount to a much larger one.

Once more, this was something Sasuke had not anticipated.

"What happened?" That lilting tone was now markedly less bland, less emotionless.

Sharper.

Sasuke could feel himself twitch minutely with agitation just thinking of what had happened earlier. Sakura could be such a little idiot sometimes, to make everyone around her worry like that.

"She overworked herself again," the Uchiha of Team Seven answered tersely, the irritation in his voice evident. "She collapsed in the hospital earlier this evening. Chakra exhaustion."

Hokage-sama had been furious over her student's blatant disregard and carelessness for her own health, and Sakura had received a fierce scolding when she had come to, groggily, a few hours later. The remaining members of Team Seven had been queuing up behind their busty but fiery Fire Shadow, waiting for their turns to nag/yell at/lecture their teammate. Sakura had understood, though, the sentiments behind her friends' actions.

She had smiled tiredly at them, and not for the first time, had promised not to overdo it again. Unfortunately, the men of Team Seven were beginning to not be fooled and were learning to take her words with a pinch of salt whenever it came to the subject of her and work.

And of course, there was also this not-so-little problem between his wounded teammate and his apathetic brother.

Really, of all the luck, he just had to be stuck right in the middle between the two.

The dark onyx eyes of the elder pierced quietly into his otouto's similar, albeit somewhat annoyed, obsidian ones.

"Where does she live?"

This time, Sasuke was visibly startled by the quiet question. Then he stared hard at his brother.

"What are you trying to do, Itachi?" The spiky-haired Uchiha asked at last. "Leave Sakura alone. Do not toy with my teammate."

The calm, sure look in Itachi's eyes didn't change. Sasuke recognized that expression almost immediately. After all, it was a trait most common to those belonging to the Uchiha clan; once they made up their mind, they rarely attempted to change it.

And Itachi had already analyzed the situation, had already realized, had already decided.

"I'm not playing, Sasuke."

* * *

"I thought that you were only ugly, Hag. I had no idea that you were really stupid as well."

Sai's mild, ridiculously false, cheerful voice rang out from her kitchen as Sakura sat in her living room, curled up on the couch and looking miserable as could be. When it rained, it poured, and just when she was so sure that she had already hit rock bottom, it just made perfect sense that she had to catch a bad cold as well.

Now the poor kunoichi was wasted from chakra exhaustion, sickness, and heartache.

Not to mention that her completely unsympathetic, rude, and socially inept teammate was puttering about in her kitchen doing god-knows-what.

It was quite possibly the worst day of her wretched life.

"Here." The ex-Root member emerged from the other room with what looked like a bowl of steaming something, whereupon he proceeded to set it upon the coffee table before her. It was a simple broth, something that would sooth her dry, scratchy throat and hopefully unblock her stuffy nose as well.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered in a muffled tone. Her friend handed her a spoon and watched her, almost thoughtfully, as she ate.

"What?"

Sai smiled his normal vague smile. "Nothing. Just thinking that you are going to die an old, shriveled up virgin."

If Sakura wasn't so used to the man's insults, she would have dumped the entire bowl of soup upon that stupid smiling head of his, hungry or not. However, since she was also feeling so damn miserable and tired, Sakura doubted that she even had the strength to aim properly and chuck the bowl without missing.

She sighed instead. Shriveled up old virgin, indeed.

"I think you may be right," she mumbled, much to his inner surprise. His normally cheerful teammate looked completely dejected at the moment, and he observed her consideringly.

"…I'm sorry."

Sai's quiet apology was completely unexpected. Before Sakura's eyes could soften with silent gratitude at his understanding, the ink-master amended his words. "I didn't mean to speak the truth. I suppose I could hire a male prostitute to help relieve you of your little problem, if it bothers you so."

Insert that blank smile.

Sakura paused in her actions, spoon halfway to her mouth. Then her eyes narrowed slightly, though the effect was somewhat dampened by her bleary, disheveled appearance. At long last, Sakura continued to drink her soup.

"I'm going to kill you painfully when this is over, Sai," the kunoichi merely remarked in a disturbingly calm tone, well aware that there was nothing she could do at the moment without overexerting her stressed body.

The ink-user appeared rather skeptical by her threat. His teammate looked so miserable right now that he couldn't imagine she would be able to fight a kitten and win. Fortunately, he decided not to share his thoughts with her, for once.

"You are most ungrateful, Hag," Sai commented blandly instead. "Remember who made your lunch for you."

Sakura gave him the evil eye.

"Sai, you only opened the can, poured the soup into the pan, and heated it up," she muttered. "Not that I'm not thankful, mind you, but you are still going to die when I'm able to kill you again."

She was not making sense at all, but he supposed it was only natural that she was babbling nonsense due to her illness.

Deciding to do his good deed of the day by humoring the sick, Sai decided to let her have the last say. He stood up.

"Hag, I have matters to attend to," the dark-haired Jounin informed his teammate.

Sakura merely waved him along. "Go then. Sasuke and Naruto will be dropping by later, but you already know that."

Team Seven had always been known as a fearsome and powerful demolition and tactics unit, but what most didn't know was that the team's secret to success was their incredible synergy. Of course, that meant whenever one of them was injured or out of commission, the others often rallied together to guard/protect/heal the wounded party. It was just the way the team functioned naturally, and as such, Sakura was literally being mothered to death by the three 'manly men' of her team. Their concern was heartwarming and aggravating at the same time, and although she really wanted to spend some moments alone wallowing in her heartbreak, it was literally impossible to do so thanks to their antics. The fact was, her teammates had thoroughly ensured that she didn't have the time or the mood to think about anything else, and they had pulled it off so magnificently, too.

Sakura was making some progress into her soup when she heard the knock on her front door. Sai had left but a brief moment ago, letting himself out with little fuss and a startled, albeit somewhat grumpy, Sakura wondered just what it was now that required her attention.

Couldn't she even be miserable alone?

Disgruntled and frazzled, Sakura reluctantly left her living room and padded over to her front door, throwing aside the latches and pulling open the door with little preamble.

"What is it now, Sai? Did you forget something-"

Her eyes finally raised up to meet those of her visitor, and it was only then when she realized with abrupt clarity that the man standing before her was not her teammate.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"…Itachi?"

In her surprise, his name had slipped from her lips quite unintentionally. The handsome, raven-haired Uchiha merely stared at the bedraggled and clearly unwell kunoichi with his usual silence, strangely enough, his gaze quietly watchful, almost as if he was intently looking at her for the very first time.

And it occurred to Sakura that she currently had a large, bulky blanket thrown over her weakened body, her hair was all tousled and messy from just waking up, her nose no doubt red from the flu, her entire expression bleary and miserable.

A squeak of dismay escaped her.

He didn't seem to notice.

"May I come in?"

It really wasn't a question, at least, it didn't sound like one coming from him. He had always appeared to be apathetic and greatly indifferent, but his Uchiha blood flowed true and when he so chose, he could easily become commandeering and possessing of the innate arrogance befitting his status as clan heir.

Sakura frowned slightly, but then she silently opened her door wider for the taller male to enter, shutting it quietly when he entered and trailing behind him as they moved further into her apartment.

Her fogged up mind raced with many questions. Why was he here? What did he want? Did something happen?

The enigmatic ANBU stopped in the midst of her living room, and she looked worriedly at him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked immediately, her eyes softening with concern. Were his injuries troubling him?

He looked at her, and then he shook his head once.

"I have heard from Sasuke that you were unwell." His normally impassive tenor was pitched softer than usual, and his eyes sharpened imperceptibly on her.

Sakura could only stare at him with bewilderment. Was that why he came?

Mildly confused, she nodded slowly.

"It was nothing," the pink-haired kunoichi answered slowly, rubbing her nose absently with a finger as she did so. "The hospital was understaffed due to a sudden influx of patients, and I overworked myself a little."

She had collapsed from chakra exhaustion. It was hardly as inconsequential as she was making it out to be.

"You are sick as well," he pointed out calmly, not entirely comfortable with this unsettling feeling of displeasure that was slowly forming within him.

She shrugged slightly, completely unaware of his growing unrest.

"I will get better," she assured. "It's just the common flu." Hesitant emerald eyes looked at the impassive man standing beside her. Did he really come all the way here just to enquire about her health? If so, what did that mean? Sakura did not know; she was hesitant to jump to conclusions.

Then she remembered that he was a guest now, and how rude was she to be standing around and not fulfilling her duties as a host?

"Please take a seat, Uchiha-san." She gestured towards her comfy couch. "I will get you a drink-"

"That will not be necessary." Almost immediately, he cut her off, the mild hint of steel behind his dulcet tone quietly authoritative. She nodded slowly. Silence lapsed, and it was getting awkward for her.

It was not so much for the Uchiha currently staring at her. He wasn't even hiding the fact that he was watching her blatantly, and she fidgeted slightly, completely unsure of what to do, what to say. Her chest twinge at his overwhelming proximity, and a part of her was resentfully upset that he had come here when she was diligently attempting to get over him. She had everything thought out so well, too; she would take the time to reprogram and recondition herself so that he would only be a mere acquaintance to her again. She would treat him as politely as she did all her patients and she would not trouble him with her affections any longer.

But his unexpected presence now was effectively throwing a wrench into her plans, and unfortunately, there was nothing she could do but try to pretend to smile.

He didn't like it at all. Combined with his own experiences as well as the warnings of his younger brother, he was learning quickly that she did not like to burden others, and more often than not, would selflessly conceal her distress or unhappiness if she had to.

"_Sakura isn't normal," Sasuke had muttered uncomfortably last night. "She doesn't behave like a proper woman; she does not know her limits when it comes to helping others and she will not reveal her hurt because she knows that she would trouble those around her. She does not like to inconvenience others." _

And that smile of hers was the perfect shield.

He had come knowing that he wanted to see her; her sickness had been the perfect opportunity that he had been unconsciously waiting for to look her up, but he had obviously neglected the fact that he, the powerful ANBU Captain, would be completely at a loss of what to say when he was finally before her.

It had never occurred to him that he would need to worry about such matters when it came to her; she always had something to say, had never tried to stress or pressure him into responding to her, had never really expected much from him safe for a little bit of his time—and attention.

In abrupt realization, he came to the stunning conclusion that he had really _grown accustomed to her_, was already perfectly at ease with her, this petite pink-haired kunoichi who was currently trying her best to distance herself from him now that he had finally taken full notice of her.

The same thought that had disturbed him enough to retreat from her now hardly fazed him. Removing himself from her had not changed the fact that he still could no longer ignore her now that she had his attention, and it seemed like he was coming out of this experience losing more than when he had first entered it. That was obviously unacceptable, and after that difficult hurdle, it didn't take him any longer to understand that he didn't mind having her around.

It was unfortunate that she now carried this opposite notion that he wanted nothing to do with her. It was faintly ironic; when she had made her confession to him, he hadn't wanted to hear it. Now that he was beginning to be receptive of her affection, she was most determinedly trying to withhold it from him.

Uchiha Itachi was hardly amused.

She had been upsetting his relatively peaceful existence for months already, and if it meant that her presence could renew the balance in his life, he was all for it.

So now, it was his turn.

Sakura, on the other hand, could no longer stand the silence anymore. She racked her brain for something to say and ended up blurting out something completely generic and lame, much to her inner chagrin.

"…Thank you for coming, Uchiha-san." The pink-haired kunoichi spoke quietly, sincerely. "You really didn't have to-"

Once again, he cut her off mid-sentence before she could finish, his dark gaze intent upon hers.

"You have always addressed me by name," Itachi interrupted her quietly. "I see no need for you to revert back to using my surname."

It was a small, inconsequential matter, but since he was aware that she was trying to use it to separate herself from him, he could not allow it.

Sakura could only stare at the man, once more surprised by his words. His eyes never left hers, and that calm, sure gaze of his bothered her enough that she was soon nodding her head in agreement.

"Alright, Itachi-san," she started hesitantly, still not entirely sure just where the Uchiha was going with this change in situation. Then, she became so thoroughly sick of her own uncharacteristic timidness around this man that she straightened her back unconsciously and frowned slightly. Her eyes started to take on a small gleam of what looked like renewed bravado.

What the hell, she hadn't even started nursing her broken heart and she was already getting annoyed by her own dourness.

Of course, a large part of that might be due to the fact that her heart really wasn't broken in the first place.

Itachi held her gaze a moment longer than necessary, and then he looked away.

"I'm also here to clarify something." His attention was now directed at the scenery outside her windows with great interest, though she continued to stare at him, this time quizzically.

"Clarify what?" she asked immediately. Sakura could not think of a single thing that he needed to know from her. Was it his injuries? Medication?

This was…difficult, certainly, a lot more so than he had ever thought. Not to mention the delicate nature of the matter, as well as this confusing woman currently standing before him and giving him that concerned, doe-eyed look of hers.

His carefully blanked gaze returned to hers, his observation keen as he trained his eyes on her face, watching her reaction unblinkingly as he attempted to figure out the truth.

"Why do you claim to like me, Sakura?"

His question was blunt and to the point. Subtlety and stealth may have been inbred into his very bones when it came to the matter of assignments, duties and missions, but when it came to matters that concerned emotions of the more personal kind, Uchiha Itachi was about as delicate as rampaging bull elephant. And so he tried to get it quickly over with, without beating around the bush, without tact.

Even Sasuke, who really couldn't boast to being the life of any party (and didn't really have any outstanding people skills, either) was a lot better than his stoic brother, thanks to years of rehabilitation from the more 'lively' members of Team Seven. Not Itachi, sadly.

And so, unfortunately for Sakura, such was the man whom she had fallen in love with, and his sudden question only made the young woman gape in surprise once more.

Of all the things he could ask, this was definitely not one she expected. Faintly, Sakura could not help but come to the conclusion that he was indeed here for _her_.

"Uh…"

Her newly-earned bravado slinked away quickly, the coward. The fact that Itachi was looking at her so intently wasn't making things any easier. Why did he want to know, all of a sudden? Why was he asking now?

It made her frown harder. It wasn't helping matters that she was now feeling completely flustered as well.

"It was a really silly reason," she muttered at last.

He looked at her. Silly…reason? Silly, which meant frivolous, which meant that she was just like his admirers, after all.

"You are only infatuated with me for my physical attributes," he told her flatly. It was oddly disappointing.

Her frown deepened further, almost a scowl.

"I only wish it was so," she muttered then, much to his inward surprise. "If that was the case, I think I would have gone for that stupid brother of yours instead."

That last sentence served to make his brows draw together. So she thought that Sasuke was better looking?

"…not to mention that you are also a bucket load of trouble." Almost as if a dam had burst, a disgruntled looking Sakura began listing all the reasons why she should not like him. "You are a workaholic, you are ANBU, you are the future head of your clan, you have so many responsibilities and so little spare time, most of which you proceed to spend on training. You drive your body to the absolute limit, you refuse to take proper care of yourself, you are always overstressed and over pressured and look like you are about to keel over anytime soon, you don't like to talk, you are very intimidating and ridiculously antisocial, and most of all, sometimes I don't even understand why I would even like you."

Then she sighed miserably, almost as if she pitied herself.

"But I _really_ do like you."

She muttered this almost despondently, and completely missed the odd expression on Itachi's face.

She looked at him then.

"This is your fault," she accused, almost as if she had just remembered what it was that had caused her to see him in an entirely new light. "If you didn't look so damn peaceful that day I wouldn't have-"

She stopped immediately, turning bright red with embarrassment.

His attention was perked by her words.

"That day?" he probed carefully.

Sakura was getting the feeling that she was digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole. She nodded defiantly, though.

"It was during Sasuke's birthday and you were lurking about in the courtyard." She clearly remembered that day almost four months ago, when she had accidentally stumbled across her teammate's elusive brother in the extensive Uchiha property. Sakura refrained from looking at the Uchiha as she continued to speak, twin flags of red sitting high on her cheeks. "I don't know what you were doing there but you were sleeping, and all I could think was how you looked so _different_."

He had been leaning against the aged trunk of a particularly large maple tree, his tensed body rarely relaxed, a long leg stretched out before him whereas the other was bent at the knee, his upper torso propped against the trunk as he catnapped lightly under the dappled sunlight. She remembered creeping nearer, careful not to wake him, her curiosity ensuring that she took a closer look at him, and what she had seen had made her blush with feminine pleasure.

The man slumbering before her had been absolutely beautiful. In tranquil repose, the harsh lines of stress on his face had faded away, and his intimidating aura seemed to have calmed as well, becoming less prominent when she looked at him. Long, sooty eyelashes fanned the high, aristocratic cheekbones, his nose was sharp and his lips thin; the man was so perfectly proportionate that it was no wonder that he had so many admirers.

But Sakura had never noticed until now, and it had made her heart flutter and skip a beat as she stared openly at the sleeping Uchiha. He had on so many layers of defenses and walls around him when awake, all meant to keep people away, but in slumber, he looked oddly defenseless.

_Human_.

Her eyes softened slightly at the memory, and he stared at her.

"You looked so very peaceful," she repeated again, a heavy blush inundating her face, well aware that she had probably intruded upon his privacy that day when she had gaped at his napping form like some village idiot. "I just wanted to see you like that again."

His brow went up at her mutter.

"You wanted to watch me sleep?" he asked, the smallest hint of incredulity coloring his lilting tone.

Her head came up immediately, and she gave him a good frown.

"That's not what I meant." Instantly, she was shy again. "You were always so…intense. For once, I just wanted to see you at peace."

Then she proceeded to blush so hard that he became mildly amused by her acute embarrassment.

"I think you would look even better, if you were happier."

The Uchiha had no idea how to respond to her words and slightly dreamy countenance.

"I have no need to look better," he answered her, eventually.

She wondered if he was offended by her mistaken implication that he wasn't very attractive. Judging by that usual blank expression on his face, Sakura doubted that was the case. After all, his appearance wasn't going to make him become any stronger, and come to think of it, being happy may very well not help improve his abilities as a nin, too.

It probably wasn't necessary for him to be happy, as well.

"You don't have to look happy to actually be happy, you know." Almost immediately, Sakura realized how contradictory her words were. She appeared awkwardly stuck, even as he looked at her with silent appraisal.

Sakura rubbed her nose again, this time trying absently to stave off a sneeze. He noticed.

"Have you taken your medication?" he asked abruptly, and she stared at him in surprise, not expecting the sudden change of subject.

She nodded. "I took my meds already."

"You will need to rest in order to heal."

She nodded once more. "I will."

It seemed then that there was nothing more to say.

Dark onyx met emerald and held for a brief moment. Then, he spoke softly, his calm, watchful gaze never leaving hers.

"It would…_please_ me, to get to know you better." He was faltering slightly at first, as if almost unsure. Then, the inborn Uchiha arrogance took over, and coupled with the self-possessed surety in his eyes, he continued in his usual smooth, lilting tenor.

"Spend time with me."

With the exception that he sounded remarkably like he was giving her a command, it was almost exactly the same thing that she had told him that night outside the Ramen Bar months ago, and her eyes widened slightly at what he was trying to tell her. She looked at him closely, and immediately noticed the acute discomfort in his posture, the hint of anxiety in his normally apathetic gaze as he waited for her answer.

He was obviously not used to doing things like this, but the fact that he was doing it for her made her eyes light up unconsciously.

He watched her quietly.

She was surprisingly easy to please. What he had proposed was hardly a relationship, but more of a chance for them to continue as they once had, to get to know each other more. Even though he was no longer set against the idea of her, he hadn't accepted her confession just yet. As cautious as he always was, he needed more time to observe, to make exactly sure, before he could come to any decision. He had to admit that he didn't know much about this kunoichi, save for his own brief observations of her as well as that shared by his younger brother, and that would have to change.

Hopefully, with the passing of time and deeper understanding of the other, the suitable conclusion that they both wanted would come.

It may not seem like much at the moment, but Sakura was content.

Her affection may not be as one-sided as she had originally thought after all, and although he still did not feel completely the same way, he was slowly but surely reconsidering.

She would wait for him.

The pretty pink-haired kunoichi smiled and nodded.

"I would like that."

_

* * *

_

:owari:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

And here ends the introductory fic to Ramen-verse. For those who were wishing for more intimate scenes, well, I would advise you not to get your hopes up, at least not until the later sequels. Things like those are going to take time, _a long time_, at least for this version's Itachi.

For those who have already guessed correctly, the characteristics of Ramen-verse's Itachi was my interpretation of the Itachi that Kishimoto had chosen to reveal only recently, aka nice!misunderstood!Itachi. At least, this was my take on the type of person that he could have been in a non-massacre verse. Some readers have already noticed that he has a rather introverted personality, as well as somewhat emotionally _fragile_.

In Ramen-verse, Itachi is still as powerful and as intelligent as ever, and although his natural instinct to be antisocial and the lone wolf sets him apart from the general populace, he actually does care about the people around him, only that they don't know it because he is unable, _not unwilling_, to show it. His abilities, genius and ranking are already awe inspiring enough, but adding that to his own distant, warily watchful nature; he is very intimidating and some may even come to the mistaken conclusion that he is actually rather stuck up as well.

That is not true; the truth is that Itachi has no idea whatsoever how to interact casually with others. If you noticed, he was already an ANBU captain in his preteens, and coupled with the fact that he was the clan heir and no doubt had an accelerated education whereupon his peers would have been a lot older than himself, he had always been put in positions whereupon he had to be a leader, and at the same time, was always surrounded by individuals much older than himself.

In other words, although he is strong and smart and an excellent nin, the circumstances in which he grew up upon had isolated him and stunted his emotional development, so much so that he is actually downright uncomfortable in the presence of people in his age group and below. And so, following that point, it is easy to assume that, for this completely introverted version of Itachi that is, interacting with the abovementioned groups of people on a basis other than work and that of a formal superior-subordinate relationship would probably have been a complete nightmare.

Of course, he doesn't indicate that discomfort, just as he couldn't seem to be able to show a lot of other things. As such, people tend to leave him alone, and he gains that unapproachable, 'Ice Prince' status, a lonely, but formidable reputation worthy of any clan heir.

At least, until Sakura comes barreling along, but that's another story.

So this is my long, half-baked explanation for Ramen-verse Itachi, after I did some tweaking of the other versions of Itachi in my various fanfics.

Hope I wasn't too confusing!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


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